Non-Greenwich-Millionaire Seeking GOP Nod

Danbury Mayor Calls Himself A 'Blue-Collar Republican'

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton announced Wednesday that he might seek the Republican nomination for governor if there is enough support … in other words, if he can raise the dough.

Boughton signaled his intention to test the waters by tweeting the Bruce Springsteen lyric: "Tramps like us … baby we were born to run."

Throughout his tenure as mayor, Boughton has become known for his use of Twitter. In fact, he made Business Insider's list of "15 Politicians Who Are Killing It On Twitter."

Boughton's tweeting style was on display earlier this summer as he watched local and state officials deal with a large bear that had climbed a tree in Danbury. Here is a sampling of his blow-by-blow account as the drama unfolded.

"We have a very large bear stuck in a tree behind the Bishop Curtis Homes – seriously"

"Please 'bear' with us as we work on the situation. Danbury Fire Dept. is on scene."

"Here's our boy. About 250lbs."

"Free the bear. Free the bear."

"Another shot from Danbeary. Our bear."

"Tranquilizer gun has now arrived. We're in a standoff of biblical proportions. Bear versus DEEP"

"DEEP is loading up tranquilizer gun. It's on like donkey kong."

"We now have a stand off. Bear versus DEEP"

"Shots fired. Shots fired."

"Trouble, he needs another shot of tranquilizer. Unbearable!"

"Bear with me folks. Waiting for the tranquilizer to work."

If Boughton ultimately decides to run he would probably face state Sen. John McKinney, who has already announced, and Greenwich businessman Tom Foley, who is expected to.

While Boughton lacks the statewide name recognition and money his opponents have, he does have things going for him they don't:

He is a NASCAR fan, a pickup truck driver, a guy who watches "Breaking Bad," and a man whose favorite TV show is "The Walking Dead," which means he understands the threat of zombies.

In terms of political labels, the former social studies teacher calls himself moderate, a "blue-collar Republican," and someone who will fight for the middle class.

A Republican candidate with a regular-guy persona who is not a millionaire from Greenwich could do well against Malloy in a general election. Of course, that's putting the cart before the GOP primary.

Still, Boughton bears watching.

Not, Apparently, Being Born to Run

A class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of 124 women who were not hired as correction officers was settled by the state for $3 million. The basis of the lawsuit was that requiring female applicants to run 1.5 miles in 14 minutes, 49 seconds, was discriminatory because the time requirement for women was tougher than that for men, who had to run the distance in 12 minutes, 25 seconds.

(The Weak only wishes that the thousands of women who have blown by him in road races over the years had been aware that covering a mile-and-a-half in 15 minutes was too hard for them.)

The corrections department has since substituted the 1.5-mile run with a 300-yard dash, which has to be done in 75 seconds. If that proves too hard, maybe they could go with a 100-foot stroll while carrying a can of Coke and bag of Doritos.

From Born to Run To Running Scared

Sometimes politics is all how you look at things: In throwing his support behind state Sen. Toni Harp for the Democratic mayoral nomination in New Haven, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is either:

Endorsing a woman he says "has been fighting for New Haven all of her adult life," and "is a monument to the people who care about public service."

Or, as one of her opponents, Henry Fernandez, sees it, is backing a woman whose family real estate business owes more than $1 million in taxes and is "Connecticut's biggest tax delinquent."

Blood On The Butter Cow

Among the strange things you have to do if you are thinking of running for president is visit the Iowa State Fair. And if that were not enough, once you are at the fair you must pay homage to a life-size cow sculpted from butter. Our own Joe Lieberman bowed before the butter cow on several occasions.

Last Sunday, animal rights protesters broke into the refrigerated display case and splattered the cow with fake blood. The Weak is happy to report that the fake blood has since been removed and the cow restored to its previous splendor.

Also, a butter sculptor of Abraham Lincoln was not vandalized, which is a relief.

Weak Bits

Now here's a novel idea: Instead of running around the country revealing previously undisclosed details of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, state police officials involved in the investigation have been instructed to stay home and work on completing the long-delayed final report.

Do unto others: Maybe the cold-blooded bureaucrats from the Federal Bureau of Prisons who came up with the idea of moving 1,100 female inmates from the Danbury federal prison to a new pork-barrel facility in Aliceville, Ala., should be required to move to that Godforsaken place along with them. Just a thought.

The Weak In Tweets

@jimboshea

Expanding instant replay to cover just about all baseball calls except balls and strikes is a horrible idea that will hurt the game.

To make things easier, perhaps a list could be compiled of women NOT sexually harassed by San Diego's mayor.

Rand Paul says there is "No 'Objective Evidence' African-American Voters Are Disenfranchised." Well, how about new voter ID laws?

Wall Street Journal asks: Could you live without your cellphone or computer? I could in certain situations ... like being in a coma.

When even Hooters won't serve you, well, now you've got a problem.

Feeling like summer is over. Think that hot spell sucked the summer out of us.

Song Of The Weak

Obviously, it has to be "Born to Run," although consideration was given to "Running Scared" and also "Born to Lose."